GENEVA – Record loss of the ozone, the atmosphere layer that shields life from the sun’s harmful rays, has been observed over the Arctic in recent months, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday.
“Depletion of the ozone…has reached an unprecedented level over the Arctic this spring because of the continuing presence of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere and a very cold winter in the stratosphere,” the WMO said in a statement.
Observations from the ground, balloons and satellites show that the region has suffered an ozone column loss of about 40 percent from the beginning of the winter to late March, according to the United Nations agency. The highest ozone loss previously recorded over the Arctic, about 30 percent, occured in several seasons over the past 15 years or so, according to a WMO spokeswoman.
“If the ozone depleted area moves away from the pole and towards lower latitudes one can expect increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation as compared to the normal for the season,” WMO said, adding that the public should check their national UV forecasts.
But any increase in UV radiation over lower latitudes away from the Arctic – which could affect parts of Canada, Nordic countries, Russia and Alaska in the United States – would not be of the same intensity as one suffers in the tropics, it said.
